By: D. Abraham Cooper, Sr.| Grand Gedeh county correspondent
Barway Town, Grand Gedeh County |February 24, 2026 | Residents and local leaders of Barway and Youbor towns are raising an urgent alarm over the deteriorating state of the Banglor Elementary and Semi-Junior High School. Located along the Konobo Highway, the institution has stood abandoned for over ten years, effectively halting formal education for hundreds of local children.
A Decade of Neglect
The School, which serves as the primary educational hub for the two neighboring towns, has been non-functional since 2016. The closure has forced a difficult choice upon parents; send their children to the provincial capital, Zwedru, at a high cost, or allow them to remain out of the classroom entirely.
James K. Gaye, the Town Chief of Barway, expressed deep frustration over the long-standing vacancy.
”Since they closed the school, our children are not going to school. Many of us don’t have the money to send them to Zwedru it isn’t just about tuition; it’s about paying house rent and buying food every day. We are calling on the authorities to come to our aid.”
Community Struggles and Financial Hardship
The sentiment is echoed in Youbor Town, where Chief Edward Jalue highlighted the economic barriers preventing families from seeking alternative education elsewhere. He noted that the lack of a local school has created a cycle of illiteracy for a generation of youth whose parents rely on low-income sustainability.
Key Issues Raised by Community Leaders:
Infrastructure Decay: The facility has been left to the elements for over 10 years.
Economic Strain: Families cannot afford the “hidden costs” of education (rent/board) in distant cities.
Administrative Silence: Local leaders report a lack of response from educational oversight bodies.
Demands for Action
According to Chief Jalue, repeated appeals to the District Education Officer (DEO) have yielded no results. “We have been calling on the DEO to find means for the reopening of the school, but up to the present, we are not getting a green light from his office,” Jalue stated.
As the 2026 academic year progresses, the citizens of Barway and Youbor continue to wait for a commitment from the Ministry of Education to renovate the facility and deploy teaching staff to the region.
